Indexing and archiving streaming sources for managed search

ABSTRACT

A data discovery service provides methods of indexing and archiving data from streaming data sources. The data discovery service can subscribe to a streaming service which transmits data collected by a streaming data source. The streaming data source may be associated with an index policy that identifies the types of data from the data stream are to be indexed, and an archive policy that identifies under what conditions an index should be archived. An index of the data stream may be generated based on the index policy until an archive event is detected. When the archive event is detected, the index can be transmitted to an archive data store and a new index can be generated for the data stream.

Increasingly, users are storing data using cloud-based storage services.These storage services may include various different types of storagesuch as object storage services, file storage services, database systemsto store relational and non-relational data, etc. Each of these storageservices may be associated with different methods to access and managethe data stored therein. These access methods typically include a searchfeature. Search is an access method that is popular among files,structured database, and relational databases. Full-text search is apopular way to analyze log files, web pages and many other file types.Beyond its use for Web pages, search has been a popular access methodfor even operational analytics and other business data. In databases,search has been a growingly popular function not only on traditionalrelational databases but also on NoSQL databases. However, implementingsearch functionality across multiple data sources can be complex andresource intensive. For example, to enable full text search for a user'sdata sources, the user must select a search engine (e.g., SOLR, Luceneor ElasticSearch, or other search engine), setup replication groups, andperform the appropriate installation. The user must also setup an ETLjob to copy the data from each data source to a search node and definethe appropriate indexes they would like to search on their data. Becausethe user's data may change, this ETL job must be run periodically tomake sure that their search index is up to date. In addition, as theuser must scale the search index as the amount of data being searchedchanges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system that provides managed search forvarious data sources, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment in which various embodimentscan be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example system that provides data discovery andindexing services, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system that provides indexing andarchiving services for streaming data sources, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for discovering and indexing datasources that can be utilized in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process for indexing and archivingstreaming data sources that can be utilized in accordance with variousembodiments; and

FIG. 7 illustrates example components of a computing device that can beused to implement aspects of various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, various embodiments will be described. Forpurposes of explanation, specific configurations and details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments.However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that theembodiments may be practiced without the specific details. Furthermore,well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscurethe embodiment being described.

Approaches in accordance with various embodiments provide for managedsearch in an electronic environment. In particular, various embodimentsprovide a data discovery service that is configured to index and archivestreaming data sources in real time.

In some embodiments, a data discovery service can provide methods ofindexing and archiving data from streaming data sources. The datadiscovery service can subscribe to a streaming service which transmitsdata collected by a streaming data source. The streaming data source maybe associated with an index policy that identifies the types of datafrom the data stream are to be indexed, and an archive policy thatidentifies under what conditions an index should be archived. An indexof the data stream may be generated based on the index policy until anarchive event is detected. When the archive event is detected, the indexcan be transmitted to an archive data store and a new index can begenerated for the data stream.

Various other functions can be implemented within the variousembodiments as well as discussed and suggested elsewhere herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 that provides managed searchfor various data sources, in accordance with various embodiments. Asdiscussed, typical search offerings require users to configure theindexes in their search engine, design, build, and operate data sourcespecific ETL programs to move data from their data sources, transformthe data to an appropriate format compatible with their search engine,and to scale their search implementation as appropriate. Further, thesearch indexes must be kept up to date, leading to ongoing maintenanceof the system as source data changes in their database or storagesystems. Embodiments of the present invention provide a managed searchsystem that address these and other problems.

As shown in FIG. 1, a managed search provider 102 can provide highlyavailable, high scalable search functionality across a user's datasources. The managed search provider 102 can include any appropriatecomponents for receiving requests and returning information orperforming actions in response to those requests. As an example, theprovider environment might include Web servers and/or applicationservers for receiving and processing requests, then returning data, Webpages, video, audio, or other such content or information in response tothe request. A user can access managed search provider 102 using aclient device 104 over at least one network 106. The client device caninclude any appropriate electronic device operable to send and receiverequests, messages, or other such information over an appropriatenetwork and convey information back to a user of the device. Examples ofsuch client devices include personal computers, tablet computers, smartphones, notebook computers, and the like. In some embodiments, a clientdevice 104 can be an electronic device in another service or environmentconfigured to send resource requests to managed search provider 102. Theat least one network 106 can include any appropriate network, includingan intranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network(LAN), or any other such network or combination, and communication overthe network can be enabled via wired and/or wireless connections.

In some embodiments, managed search provider 102 can include a searchservice 108 that is configured to search various data sources associatedwith a user's account. Rather than requiring the user to manuallyidentify and configure each data source, a data discovery service 110can automatically identify the data sources and index the data sources.In some embodiments, once data discovery service 110 has identified thedata sources associated with the user's account, an ETL service 112 canbe used to enable full-text indexing on the user's data stored in datasources 114. Data sources 114 may include big data sources (e.g., AWSS3, DynamoDB, etc.), relational data sources (e.g., RDS, Aurora,relational databases on AWS EC2 and on-premise, etc.), and streamingdata sources (e.g., Kinesis, DynamoDB Streams, etc.). An index 116 foreach data source can be stored a highly available manner (e.g., byreplicating the underlying search indexes), and can be configured toscale automatically as the corresponding source data grows. In someembodiments, data can be indexed in real-time by connecting to eventstreams produced by the data sources 114. Search service 108 may thenuse the indexes to search the various data sources associated with theuser's account and return results. This way, managed search provider 102can provide full-text searching of various data sources withoutrequiring significant development or maintenance by the user.

As discussed, managed search provider 102 can provide scalable managedsearch services to users. Managed search provider 102 can be associatedwith a resource provider environment, as discussed further below, tomanage provisioning and deploying instances as needed to accommodate auser's managed search needs.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment 200 in which aspects of thevarious embodiments can be implemented. In this example a user is ableto utilize a client device 202 to submit requests across at least onenetwork 204 to a resource provider environment 206. The client devicecan include any appropriate electronic device operable to send andreceive requests, messages, or other such information over anappropriate network and convey information back to a user of the device.Examples of such client devices include personal computers, tabletcomputers, smart phones, notebook computers, and the like. In someembodiments, a client device 202 can be an electronic device in anotherservice or environment configured to send resource requests to resourceprovider environment 206. The at least one network 204 can include anyappropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, a cellularnetwork, a local area network (LAN), or any other such network orcombination, and communication over the network can be enabled via wiredand/or wireless connections. The resource provider environment 206 caninclude any appropriate components for receiving requests and returninginformation or performing actions in response to those requests. As anexample, the provider environment might include Web servers and/orapplication servers for receiving and processing requests, thenreturning data, Web pages, video, audio, or other such content orinformation in response to the request.

In various embodiments, the provider environment may include varioustypes of resources that can be utilized by multiple users for a varietyof different purposes. In at least some embodiments, all or a portion ofa given resource or set of resources might be allocated to a particularuser or allocated for a particular task, for at least a determinedperiod of time. The sharing of these multi-tenant resources from aprovider environment (or multi-tenant environment) is often referred toas resource sharing, Web services, or “cloud computing,” among othersuch terms and depending upon the specific environment and/orimplementation. In this example the provider environment includes aplurality of resources 214 of one or more types. These types caninclude, for example, application servers operable to processinstructions provided by a user or database servers operable to processdata stored in one or more data stores 216 in response to a userrequest. As known for such purposes, the user can also reserve at leasta portion of the data storage in a given data store. Methods forenabling a user to reserve various resources and resource instances arewell known in the art, such that detailed description of the entireprocess, and explanation of all possible components, will not bediscussed in detail herein.

In at least some embodiments, a user wanting to utilize a portion of theresources 214 can submit a request that is received to an interfacelayer 208 of the provider environment 206. The interface layer caninclude application programming interfaces (APIs) or other exposedinterfaces enabling a user to submit requests to the providerenvironment. The interface layer 208 in this example can also includeother components as well, such as at least one Web server, routingcomponents, load balancers, and the like. When a request to provision aresource is received to the interface layer 208, information for therequest can be directed to a resource manager 210 or other such system,service, or component configured to manage user accounts andinformation, resource provisioning and usage, and other such aspects. Aresource manager 210 receiving the request can perform tasks such as toauthenticate an identity of the user submitting the request, as well asto determine whether that user has an existing account with the resourceprovider, where the account data may be stored in at least one datastore 212 in the provider environment. A user can provide any of varioustypes of credentials in order to authenticate an identity of the user tothe provider. These credentials can include, for example, a username andpassword pair, biometric data, a digital signature, or other suchinformation. The provider can validate this information againstinformation stored for the user. If the user has an account with theappropriate permissions, status, etc., the resource manager candetermine whether there are adequate resources available to suit theuser's request, and if so can provision the resources or otherwise grantaccess to the corresponding portion of those resources for use by theuser for an amount specified by the request. This amount can include,for example, capacity to process a single request or perform a singletask, a specified period of time, or a recurring/renewable period, amongother such values. If the user does not have a valid account with theprovider, the user account does not enable access to the type ofresources specified in the request, or another such reason is preventingthe user from obtaining access to such resources, a communication can besent to the user to enable the user to create or modify an account, orchange the resources specified in the request, among other such options.

Once the user is authenticated, the account verified, and the resourcesallocated, the user can utilize the allocated resource(s) for thespecified capacity, amount of data transfer, period of time, or othersuch value. In at least some embodiments, a user might provide a sessiontoken or other such credentials with subsequent requests in order toenable those requests to be processed on that user session. The user canreceive a resource identifier, specific address, or other suchinformation that can enable the client device 202 to communicate with anallocated resource without having to communicate with the resourcemanager 210, at least until such time as a relevant aspect of the useraccount changes, the user is no longer granted access to the resource,or another such aspect changes.

The resource manager 210 (or another such system or service) in thisexample can also function as a virtual layer of hardware and softwarecomponents that handles control functions in addition to managementactions, as may include provisioning, scaling, replication, etc. Theresource manager can utilize dedicated APIs in the interface layer 208,where each API can be provided to receive requests for at least onespecific action to be performed with respect to the data environment,such as to provision, scale, clone, or hibernate an instance. Uponreceiving a request to one of the APIs, a Web services portion of theinterface layer can parse or otherwise analyze the request to determinethe steps or actions needed to act on or process the call. For example,a Web service call might be received that includes a request to create adata repository.

An interface layer 208 in at least one embodiment includes a scalableset of customer-facing servers that can provide the various APIs andreturn the appropriate responses based on the API specifications. Theinterface layer also can include at least one API service layer that inone embodiment consists of stateless, replicated servers which processthe externally-facing customer APIs. The interface layer can beresponsible for Web service front end features such as authenticatingcustomers based on credentials, authorizing the customer, throttlingcustomer requests to the API servers, validating user input, andmarshalling or unmarshalling requests and responses. The API layer alsocan be responsible for reading and writing database configuration datato/from the administration data store, in response to the API calls. Inmany embodiments, the Web services layer and/or API service layer willbe the only externally visible component, or the only component that isvisible to, and accessible by, customers of the control service. Theservers of the Web services layer can be stateless and scaledhorizontally as known in the art. API servers, as well as the persistentdata store, can be spread across multiple data centers in a region, forexample, such that the servers are resilient to single data centerfailures.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example system 300 that provides data discoveryand indexing services, in accordance with various embodiments. As shownin FIG. 3, a user can send a request to data discovery service 110,using client device 104, to identify data sources 114 associated withthe user's account. In some embodiments, the user can provide accountcredentials with the request. In some embodiments, data discoveryservice 110 can access account information 302 associated with the userusing the account credentials from the user. The account information 302can include data source credentials and/or access information forvarious data sources 114 associated with the user's account. A datacatalog service 304 can access each data source 114 through one or moredata source interfaces 306. Each type of data source may be associatedwith a different data source interface which may define how that type ofdata source is accessed and how updates can be retrieved from that typeof data source. In some embodiments, data catalog service 304 canmaintain a list of data sources 114 associated with the user's account.In some embodiments, data catalog service 304 can periodically attemptto access each data source 114 using corresponding account credentialsmaintained in account information 302. If the access fails for aparticular data source, data catalog service can request new accountcredentials and/or remove the particular data source from the list ofdata sources.

In some embodiments, data sources 114 can include streaming sources 308(e.g., AWS Kinesis), object storage services 310, file storage services312, database systems 314 (e.g., RDS, Aurora, etc.), non-relationaldatabase systems 316 (e.g., DynamoDB and other NoSQL data stores), andother cloud-based storage systems 318. Although particular types of datasources are described, other data sources may also be used with variousembodiments. For example, to support a new type of data source, datasource interfaces 306 can be updated to include corresponding accessmethods and update notification methods for that new type of datasource.

Traditional indexing services can be used with only some types of datasources or formats of data, which requires users to configure variousdifferent services to index all of their data. Additionally, intraditional indexing services the user must manually create ETL jobs foreach data source. In some embodiments, index service 320 canautomatically index data from each data source 114 associated with auser's account identified by data catalog service 304. For example,index service 320 can generate an ETL job for each data source withoutadditional user input. Index service 320 can create the ETL job for adata source using the corresponding access methods of data sourceinterface 306 and designate index 116 as the target data store for theETL job. Each ETL job can identify data in the corresponding data sourceand parse the data to generate an index for the data source. Embodimentsof the present invention can tokenize the data and analyze it accordingto known search indexing techniques. Based on the amount of data beingindexed, index service 320 can automatically scale index 116. In someembodiments, index service 320 can replicate the indexes stored in index116 across multiple data stores.

In some embodiments, index service 320 can index data from data sources114 based on one or more index policies 322. Index policies 322 caninclude default policies provided by managed search provider 102. Forexample, a default policy may be to index all fields associated with adata source. In some embodiments, default index policies can be providedfor each type of data source and/or for each particular data source.Index policies 322 can include user-specified policies in addition, oras an alternative, to default policies. In some embodiments, indexpolicies may be maintained for each data source and/or type of datasource in a look-up table or other data structure. The index service 320can determine the index policy for a data source by searching the datastructure. In some embodiments, index service can cause a policycustomization interface to be displayed on client device 104. The policycustomization interface can receive selections from users of particulardata sources, data sets, fields, formats, or other features of data thatthe user wants to be indexed. In some embodiments, a user may choose toexclude particular data sources or data sets from being indexed.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system 400 that provides indexing andarchiving services for streaming data sources, in accordance withvarious embodiments. As discussed, in some embodiments data discoveryservice 110 can identify streaming data sources associated with a user'saccount. A streaming service 402 can collect data in real-time from astreaming data source 404. Streaming data may include clickstream data,update data, and other event-driven data. Streaming data interface 406can subscribe to one or more data streams exposed by streaming service402. In some embodiments, real-time index service 408 can automaticallyindex data from received from streaming service 402 through streamingdata interface 406 in real time. For example, real-time index service408 can generate an ETL job for each data stream from streaming service402 without additional user input. Each ETL job can parse data in thecorresponding data stream to generate an index for the data stream. Asdiscussed, indexing the data can include tokenizing the data andanalyzing it according to known search indexing techniques. Each indexcan be stored in index 116.

In some embodiments, index policies 322 can include default policies forstreaming data sources. For example, a default policy may be to indexall fields associated with a data source. In some embodiments, defaultindex policies can be provided for each type of data source and/or foreach particular data source. As discussed, index policies 322 caninclude user-specified policies in addition, or as an alternative, todefault policies. In some embodiments, as discussed, a user cancustomize a policy using a policy customization interface. The policycustomization interface can receive selections from users of particulardata streams, fields, formats, or other features of data that the userwants to be indexed. In some embodiments, a user may choose to excludeparticular data streams, fields, or other features from being indexed.

In some embodiments, archive/restore service 410 can manage indexes fordata streams. Archive/restore service 410 can archive indexes for datastreams indexed by real-time index service 408. Archive/restore service410 can be configured to archive the indexes when an archive event isdetected. The archive event can be, e.g., based on a size of the indexand/or based on an index time (e.g., a period of time the data streamhas been indexed since the last archive). For example, some users mayutilize data stream indexes within a particular period of time after thedata from the data stream is received. The archive/restore service 410can then be configured to archive the corresponding index after theparticular period of time and store the index in archive 412. When anindex is archived, it can be transmitted from the index 116 to archive412 and can be associated with one or more timestamps corresponding to atime period during which the index was generated. In some embodiments, auser may define archive policies 414 that schedule archives based ontime or a detected event, such as the index reaching a predefined size.In some embodiments, archive policies may be maintained for each datasource and/or type of data source in a look-up table or other datastructure. The archive/restore service 410 can determine the archivepolicy for a data source by searching the data structure. The data fromthe data stream can then be indexed for another particular period oftime before it is archived to archive 412. If a user requests to searchdata that has been archived, the index can be restored byarchive/restore service 410. For example, a user may request to searchdata that was indexed during a particular time period. Archive/restoreservice 410 can identify one or more archived indexes that cover thattime period and move the corresponding indexes from archive 412 to index116 where it may then be used to search the corresponding data from thedata stream. In some embodiments, a request to restore data from aparticular time period can be received. Archive/restore service 410 canidentify the archived indexes that cover that time period and move thecorresponding indexes from archive 412 to index 116. In someembodiments, archive policies can be customized by a user to specifyarchive events that trigger the archive/restore service to archive thecurrent index. For example, the user may specify the index time and/orindex size that triggers the index to be archived.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for discovering and indexingdata sources that can be utilized in accordance with variousembodiments. It should be understood for this and other processesdiscussed herein that there can be additional, alternative, or fewersteps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, withinthe scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated. In thisexample, a request can be received 502 to identify data sourcesassociated with an account of a service provider. As discussed, the datasources can include object data sources, file system data sources,databases, streaming data sources, or other data sources. Accessinformation can be determined 504 for each data source associated withthe account. For example, a data catalog service can send a request tothe service provider for access information for each data sourceassociated with the account. Credential information may include ausername and password, certificate, key, or other credential.

A list of data sources can be generated 506 which includes the datasources associated with the account and each data source's correspondingaccess information. For example, the data catalog service can use thecredential information to request access to each data source. If therequest is successful, the data source can be added to the list of datasources. In some embodiments, the list of data source can be maintainedby periodically requesting access to the data sources on the list. Ifthe request is unsuccessful the data source can be removed from the listor a request can be sent for updated access information.

In various embodiments, an index policy can be determined 508 for eachdata source. The index policy can identify at least one type of data toindex from the corresponding data source. In some embodiments, indexpolicies can be defined for particular data sources and/or types of datasources. As discussed, the index policy can include a default indexpolicy and/or a user-specified index policy. A user-specified indexpolicy can be received through a policy customization interface and mayinclude a selection of types of data, data fields, data formats, orother data features to be indexed. In some embodiments, the indexpolicies may specify the types of data not to be indexed. An index maythen be generated 510 for each data source based on the index policies.In some embodiments, an index may be generated by generating an ETL jobidentifying the data source and an index data store. The indexes may bestored in the index data store.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 600 for indexing and archivingstreaming data sources that can be utilized in accordance with variousembodiments. As shown in FIG. 6, a request can be sent 602 to astreaming service to subscribe to a data stream. The data stream can beassociated with one or more streaming data sources. A streaming datasource can collect data from various users in real time and publish thedata to the streaming service. In some embodiments, a request can firstbe received from a service provider to index the streaming data source.An index policy associated with the streaming data source can bedetermined 604. As discussed, the index policy can identify types ofdata to be indexed from the data stream.

In some embodiments, data can be received 606 from the streaming serviceafter subscribing to the data stream. An index of the data stream can begenerated 608 in real time based on the index policy associated with thedata source. As discussed, the index can be stored in an index datastore. In various embodiments, an archive policy associated with thedata source can be determined 610. The archive policy can identify anarchive event and an archive data store associated with the data source.In some embodiments, the archive event can include an index size and/oran index time. For example, when the index has reached a particularsize, the index can be archived and a new index can be generated.Similarly, an index may be archived after a particular amount of timehas elapsed since the last archive. In some embodiments, an archivepolicy can be customized by a user through a policy customizationinterface in which the user may specify one or more archive events totrigger archiving an index.

When an archive event is detected, the index can be archived 612.Archiving may include transmitting the index from the index data storeto the archive data store and generating a new index of the data streambased on the index policy. In some embodiments, the index can be storedin the archive data store with one or more timestamps corresponding to atime period during which the index was generated. In some embodiments, arequest to restore archived data corresponding to a time period can bereceived. Using the timestamps associated with the archived indexes, oneor more archived indexes associated with the requested data can beidentified. These indexes can then be transmitted from the archive datastore to the index data store.

FIG. 7 illustrates a set of basic components of an example computingdevice 700 that can be utilized to implement aspects of the variousembodiments. In this example, the device includes at least one processor702 for executing instructions that can be stored in a memory device orelement 704. As would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art,the device can include many types of memory, data storage orcomputer-readable media, such as a first data storage for programinstructions for execution by the at least one processor 702, the sameor separate storage can be used for images or data, a removable memorycan be available for sharing information with other devices, and anynumber of communication approaches can be available for sharing withother devices. The device may include at least one type of displayelement 706, such as a touch screen, electronic ink (e-ink), organiclight emitting diode (OLED) or liquid crystal display (LCD), althoughdevices such as servers might convey information via other means, suchas through a system of lights and data transmissions. The devicetypically will include one or more networking components 708, such as aport, network interface card, or wireless transceiver that enablescommunication over at least one network. The device can include at leastone input device 710 able to receive conventional input from a user.This conventional input can include, for example, a push button, touchpad, touch screen, wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, trackball, keypador any other such device or element whereby a user can input a commandto the device. These I/O devices could even be connected by a wirelessinfrared or Bluetooth or other link as well in some embodiments. In someembodiments, however, such a device might not include any buttons at alland might be controlled only through a combination of visual and audiocommands such that a user can control the device without having to be incontact with the device.

As discussed, different approaches can be implemented in variousenvironments in accordance with the described embodiments. As will beappreciated, although a Web-based environment is used for purposes ofexplanation in several examples presented herein, different environmentsmay be used, as appropriate, to implement various embodiments. Thesystem includes an electronic client device, which can include anyappropriate device operable to send and receive requests, messages orinformation over an appropriate network and convey information back to auser of the device. Examples of such client devices include personalcomputers, cell phones, handheld messaging devices, laptop computers,set-top boxes, personal data assistants, electronic book readers and thelike. The network can include any appropriate network, including anintranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network or anyother such network or combination thereof. Components used for such asystem can depend at least in part upon the type of network and/orenvironment selected. Protocols and components for communicating viasuch a network are well known and will not be discussed herein indetail. Communication over the network can be enabled via wired orwireless connections and combinations thereof. In this example, thenetwork includes the Internet, as the environment includes a Web serverfor receiving requests and serving content in response thereto, althoughfor other networks, an alternative device serving a similar purposecould be used, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The illustrative environment includes at least one application serverand a data store. It should be understood that there can be severalapplication servers, layers or other elements, processes or components,which may be chained or otherwise configured, which can interact toperform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriate data store. Asused herein, the term “data store” refers to any device or combinationof devices capable of storing, accessing and retrieving data, which mayinclude any combination and number of data servers, databases, datastorage devices and data storage media, in any standard, distributed orclustered environment. The application server can include anyappropriate hardware and software for integrating with the data store asneeded to execute aspects of one or more applications for the clientdevice and handling a majority of the data access and business logic foran application. The application server provides access control servicesin cooperation with the data store and is able to generate content suchas text, graphics, audio and/or video to be transferred to the user,which may be served to the user by the Web server in the form of HTML,XML or another appropriate structured language in this example. Thehandling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery ofcontent between the client device and the application server, can behandled by the Web server. It should be understood that the Web andapplication servers are not required and are merely example components,as structured code discussed herein can be executed on any appropriatedevice or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.

The data store can include several separate data tables, databases orother data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating to aparticular aspect. For example, the data store illustrated includesmechanisms for storing content (e.g., production data) and userinformation, which can be used to serve content for the production side.The data store is also shown to include a mechanism for storing log orsession data. It should be understood that there can be many otheraspects that may need to be stored in the data store, such as page imageinformation and access rights information, which can be stored in any ofthe above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanismsin the data store. The data store is operable, through logic associatedtherewith, to receive instructions from the application server andobtain, update or otherwise process data in response thereto. In oneexample, a user might submit a search request for a certain type ofitem. In this case, the data store might access the user information toverify the identity of the user and can access the catalog detailinformation to obtain information about items of that type. Theinformation can then be returned to the user, such as in a resultslisting on a Web page that the user is able to view via a browser on theuser device. Information for a particular item of interest can be viewedin a dedicated page or window of the browser.

Each server typically will include an operating system that providesexecutable program instructions for the general administration andoperation of that server and typically will include computer-readablemedium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of theserver, allow the server to perform its intended functions. Suitableimplementations for the operating system and general functionality ofthe servers are known or commercially available and are readilyimplemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly inlight of the disclosure herein.

The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environmentutilizing several computer systems and components that areinterconnected via communication links, using one or more computernetworks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equallywell in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than areillustrated. Thus, the depiction of the systems herein should be takenas being illustrative in nature and not limiting to the scope of thedisclosure.

The various embodiments can be further implemented in a wide variety ofoperating environments, which in some cases can include one or more usercomputers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of anumber of applications. User or client devices can include any of anumber of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptopcomputers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular,wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable ofsupporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a systemcan also include a number of workstations running any of a variety ofcommercially-available operating systems and other known applicationsfor purposes such as development and database management. These devicescan also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals,thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicatingvia a network.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar tothose skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, FTP, UPnP,NFS, and CIFS. The network can be, for example, a local area network, awide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet,an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, awireless network and any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of avariety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTPservers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers and businessapplication servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executingprograms or scripts in response requests from user devices, such as byexecuting one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one ormore scripts or programs written in any programming language, such asJava®, C, C # or C++ or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python orTCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also includedatabase servers, including without limitation those commerciallyavailable from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase® and IBM® as well asopen-source servers such as MySQL, Postgres, SQLite, MongoDB, and anyother server capable of storing, retrieving and accessing structured orunstructured data. Database servers may include table-based servers,document-based servers, unstructured servers, relational servers,non-relational servers or combinations of these and/or other databaseservers.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled inthe art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includescomputerized devices, each such device can include hardware elementsthat may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, forexample, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one inputdevice (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch-sensitive displayelement or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a displaydevice, printer or speaker). Such a system may also include one or morestorage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices andsolid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) orread-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memorycards, flash cards, etc.

Such devices can also include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device) and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, suchas applets) or both. Further, connection to other computing devices suchas network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and other non-transitory computer readable media forcontaining code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate mediaknown or used in the art, such as but not limited to volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data,including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by a system device. Basedon the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implementthe various embodiments.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:receiving, from a service provider, a request to index a specificstreaming data source of a plurality of data sources, the specificstreaming data source collecting data from a plurality of users in realtime and publishing the data to a streaming service; sending, to thestreaming service, a request to subscribe to a data stream, the datastream associated with the specific streaming data source; receiving apredetermined index policy, in response to the request, thepredetermined index policy being associated with each streaming datasource and tagged to the specific streaming data source, beforetransmission of the data stream from the streaming service, the indexpolicy identifying one or more types of data to be indexed from the datastream; receiving the data stream from the streaming service; generatingan index of the data stream in real time, based on the index policyassociated with the specific streaming data source; storing the index inan index data store; receiving a predetermined archive policy, inresponse to the request, the predetermined archive policy beingassociated with each streaming data source and tagged to the specificstreaming data source, before transmission of the data stream from thestreaming service, the archive policy identifying at least one archiveevent and an archive data store; detecting the at least one archiveevent; transmitting the index from the index data store to the archivedata store; and generating a new index of the data stream based on theindex policy.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thearchive event includes at least one of an index size or an index time.3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting theindex from the index data store to the archive data store furthercomprises: storing the index in the archive data store, the indexassociated with one or more timestamps corresponding to a time periodduring which the index was generated.
 4. The computer-implemented methodof claim 3, further comprising: receiving a request to restore archiveddata corresponding to a time period from the archive data store;determining at least one archived index corresponding to the timeperiod; and transmitting the at least one archived index from thearchive data store to the index data store.
 5. A computer-implementedmethod, comprising: sending, to a streaming service, a request tosubscribe to a data stream, the data stream associated with a datasource; receiving a predetermined index policy, in response to therequest, associated with and tagged to the data source beforetransmission of the data stream, the index policy identifying one ormore types of data to be indexed from the data stream; receiving thedata stream from the streaming service; generating an index of the datastream in real time, based on the index policy associated with the datasource; receiving a predetermined archive policy, in response to therequest, associated with and tagged to the data source beforetransmission of the data stream; and archiving the index based on thearchive policy.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, whereinthe archive policy identifies at least one archive event and an archivedata store.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein thearchive event includes at least one of an index size or an index time.8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein archiving theindex based on the archive policy, further comprises: detecting the atleast one archive event; transmitting the index to the archive datastore; and generating a new index of the data stream based on the indexpolicy.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, whereintransmitting the index from the index data store to the archive datastore further comprises: storing the index in the archive data store,the index associated with one or more timestamps corresponding to a timeperiod during which the index was generated.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving arequest to search data corresponding to a time period from the archivedata store; determining at least one archived index corresponding to thetime period; and transmitting the at least one archived index from thearchive data store to the index data store.
 11. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 5, wherein determining an archive policy associated withthe data source, further comprises: receiving a request to customize thearchive policy for the data source; causing a policy customizationinterface to be displayed on a client device; and receiving a definitionof at least one archive event.
 12. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 5, wherein determining an index policy associated with the datasource, further comprises: receiving a request to customize the indexpolicy for a type of data source; causing a policy customizationinterface to be displayed on a client device; and receiving a selectionof data to be indexed.
 13. A system, comprising: at least one processor;and memory including instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, enable the system to: send, to a streaming service, arequest to subscribe to a data stream, the data stream associated with adata source; receive a predetermined index policy, in response to therequest, associated with and tagged to the data source beforetransmission of the data stream, the index policy identifying one ormore types of data to be indexed from the data stream; receive the datastream from the streaming service; generate an index of the data streamin real time, based on the index policy associated with the data source;receive a predetermined archive policy, in response to the request,associated with and tagged to the data source before transmission of thedata stream; and archive the index based on the archive policy.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the archive policy identifies at least onearchive event and an archive data store.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein the archive event includes at least one of an index size and anindex time.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted to archive the index based on the archive policy, furtherenable the system to: detect the at least one archive event; transmitthe index to the archive data store; and generate a new index of thedata stream based on the index policy.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the instructions, when executed to transmit the index from theindex data store to the archive data store, further enable the systemto: store the index in the archive data store, the index associated withone or more timestamps corresponding to a time period during which theindex was generated.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, furtherenable the system to: receive a request to search data corresponding toa time period from the archive data store; determine at least onearchived index corresponding to the time period; and transmit the atleast one archived index from the archive data store to the index datastore.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted to determine an archive policy associated with the data source,further enable the system to: receive a request to customize the archivepolicy for the data source; cause a policy customization interface to bedisplayed on a client device; and receive a definition of at least onearchive event.
 20. The system of claim 13, wherein the instructions,when executed to determine an index policy associated with the datasource, further enable the system to: receive a request to customize theindex policy for a type of data source; cause a policy customizationinterface to be displayed on a client device; and receive a selection ofdata to be indexed.